Finger Lakes Distilling

Cool atmosphere, friendly staff, many choices to choose from!

Outstanding distillery business on the shore of Seneca Lake. the region’s first artisanal distillery to stand on its own, not associated with or located within an existing winery or fruit farm.
Their Vintners’ Vodka is made by distilling wine made from Finger Lakes grapes and has the grape flavor and character. That’s the point of a craft distillery — keeping the character of the region. The gin uses the same wine base and adds botanicals — herbs and spices — grown around the area. both were excellent and highly recommended.
One of their more unusual products, corn whiskey, is a clear, unaged spirit that has a distinct corn aroma and taste. Finger Lakes Distilling named it Glen Thunder after the Watkins Glen International Raceway. The star of the distillery are their Bourbons, whiskeys and ryes.
We earned a Masters Degree from our amazing host John, a vast professor of bourbon and all liquids distilled. He had us spellbound explaining how the American pioneers pushed west of the Allegheny Mountains following the American Revolution founding the first counties over vast regions. One of these original, huge counties was Bourbon, established in 1785 and named after the French royal family. While this vast county was being carved into many smaller ones, early in the 19^th century, many people continued to call the region Old Bourbon. Located within Old Bourbon was the principal port on the Ohio River, Maysville, Kentucky, from which whiskey and other products were shipped. «Old Bourbon» was stencilled on the barrels to indicate their port of origin. Old Bourbon whiskey was different because it was the first corn whiskey most people had ever tasted. In time, bourbon became the name for any corn-​based whiskey.
Fascinating stop! John is to be commended on his knowledge and for being a fascinating host and representative of Finger Lakes Distillery!

Very cool place and most gorgeous views!!! Nice selection of whiskeys, vodkas, and even grappa! Oh and the syrups they use to mix — OMG, amazing … definitely recommendation; but please, eat a little something before trying (wink).

This stop was the highlight of our tour of wineries and breweries in Hector. We were lucky enough to have Glen as our tasting guide. He was knowledgeable and warm. We tried the gin, corn whiskey and bourbon. Each was unique and delicious. We ended up leaving with a box of booze for ourselves, friends and family. Highly recommend.

Really amazing service here. Great learning opportunity about whisky, bourbon, etc in a fun environment. The cherry cordial is amazing!

Very knowledgeable guide for our tastings. They have a fair range of spirits: whiskeys, gins, grappa, and others. Sweet dog on premises. I had to splurge on a bottle of irish whiskey and on a bottle of bourbon. Better than some of the other local distilleries.

Every summer my girlfriend and I head to Seneca Lake to relax, hike, and of course take in the wine trail. She’s a wine enthusiast where I’m more into craft beers and liquor and coming upon Finger Lakes Distilling was a welcome sight for me. As with most places on the trial it has beautiful views of the lake. I came here based on a friend’s recommendation and I was not disappointed. They have some great stuff here. I bought several bottles of their grappa. I grew in big Italian family where they still make some pretty awful grappa so I have pretty bad memories of how the stuff tastes, but after trying it here it was some of the best tasting grappa I’ve ever had. I had to bring back a few bottles to convince the family to switch to this!

Went there with my cousin who was visiting from California. She works in the wine industry out there, so I thought this would be something different. We tasted vodka first, and I thought to myself that I could buy better anywhere. We tasted whiskeys and they were good, but needed to spend more time aging in wood to develop depth of flavor. Then we tasted the gin. Wow! Wonderful aroma of juniper berries and high alcohol content actually helps the flavor. Bought 2 bottles. This review written as I’m enjoying a gin and tonic a week later. Gin lovers should put this place on your list :)

I loved the vibe of this place and I am sure my +1 will be dragging me back here to taste more of their collection. The only bad/​sad thing about this place, in their opinions, was the 3 tasting rule by NY law, so it says. I definitely think it is possible to try more then 3, at least 4, but I don’t make the rules. They served mixed drinks out on the patio area for about $ 6 so that was pretty cool. The people working are super knowledgeable on the different tastings. You can also get them mixed, like a mini shot of a mixed drink if you don’t like the taste straight up. LOTS of options from gin, rye, vodka — I am sure there is something everyone likes. All of the guys said it was so smooth and very good, we even bought a bottle or two.
There is a tour but it starts early in the day so we missed it, we never get there early. Lots of things to browse for purchasing, fun little knick knacks and even some clothing with their logo. They had a tasting of their food products too which I thought was pretty cool and of course pretzels to snack on between tastings!
For a whiskey, gin, or liquor lover– it is a must stop place. The view is also really great!

We started our trip with Finger Lakes Distillery as our first stop and boy were we thankful. What a fantastic place — people are extremely friendly, the tasting was fantastic. We were lucky enough to jump into a tour — they only have 1 a week (11AM on a Saturday) and it was the best tour we could have asked for. Perhaps the best I have ever been on. The location is great. Please make sure you stop here — definitely worth it.

Great service! Gluten free liquor options and the staff were informative and friendly! Loved it!

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit here. The distillery is situated a short ways up from the lake. It has quite a selection of well made gins and whiskies. The Seneca Gin and the bourbon were the standouts for me. The tasting is a treat — the bartenders/​distillery folk are knowledgeable, friendly, and attentive, willing to mix a host of different drinks for the tastings. I had a mini-​Manhattan in addition to tasting the two gins, both of which were quite good. The shop itself is filled with a variety of great items, in addition to the distillery-​made liquors, including traditional Scottish Glencairn snifter glasses, which do make such a difference for a tasting. This distillery was a perfect place for us to wait out the rain on our honeymoon!

Experience is 5 stars! The person who facilitated our tasting was friendly, knowledgable and fun. The drinks were good, but the experience was what made it so good.

Loved this place! It’s very small with a little bar where you can taste 3 samples of spirits. The bar tender we had was older and very knowledgeable. I walked out buying 7 bottles… def recommend.

This place was great!
I ended up buying 6 bottles.
Friendly staff, good views of the lake, and great design of the tasting building.
The NY honey whiskey was really good. Their fruit liqueurs were very good (I’m going to mix many cocktails with those).
They had a maple liqueur also that was very appropriate for autumn.

This place was bumping when we got there. There is a pretty view of the lake right before you walk in. For the tasting, you only get three. They have all types of liquor, from whiskey to brandy. What I liked most about the distillery was the exposed gears and equipment found behind the bar. Besides the products they make, they also have t-​shirts for sale and other neat items. Our crowd loved this spot!

For the Seneca Drums gin alone, this place gets 5 stars. So flowery and delicate! I came last summer with my boyfriend on a tasting– although we were sharing the place with a bus full of a upstate NY bridal party, the staff was very helpful. There’s a limit on the number of free samples by law, so be sure to try the gin.
When I came back to NYC was happy to see its rightful place on the menus of restaurants like ABC kitchen, and in upscale liquor stores. yay, finger lakes!!!

If you come to visit the finger lake wineries this place is a must to hit! The tasting staff are all so friendly and full of knowledge! I am not a vodka or liqueur girl and I did let the staff know that the thought of tasting shots of flavored vodka actually scared me. The staff did a wonderful job of mixing «drink shots» for me which included liqueur and flavored vodka… all so yummy… no complaints from me for sure!
Finger Lakes specialty raspberry flavored liqueur and a dash or two of aztec chocolate bitters. need I say more… You must come here when doing the wine tours! A nice change from the normal wine tasting rooms in the area. Bring the girlfriends here and have a great time!

After spending the afternoon hiking in Watkins Glen State Park, my boyfriend and I made our way back up Seneca Lake to Rochester. This time we drove on the east side, and found FLD on Unilocal.
We had difficulty finding it. Did we pass it? From looking at the map we did. However, I called and the man who answered calmed me with, «I can guarantee we have not disappeared!» He then gave me detailed directions and greeted us before we even made it in the door.
We were able to make three selections each, totaling six samples. He offered very good advice for a nice variety and also took our tastes and preferences into account.
Just $ 3 for a tasting and then you can put that same $ 3 toward a purchase.

This is an excellent find in the area and a fantastic place to visit. I concur with Patrick that it’s best to hit his before you start visiting wineries… if for no other reason than that you don’t want to imbibe a bunch of hard liquor in the middle of wine tastings.
The hosts that help with tasting are very knowledgeable and can help you find things you might like if you don’t know much about spirits. A lot of people know what they like at bars, but don’t have much experience with the «next level» so to speak, which is what is distilled at Finger Lakes.
Their products are very high quality and impressive, especially their lines of whiskey and gin. My wife tried the grappa but wasn’t impressed enough to want to buy a bottle. One of the highlights of their distillery is their rye – although rye is making a comeback, it is difficult to find good rye. Their bottle received very favorable national reviews.
If you like whiskey, gin, grappa, vodka, or liqueur, don’t miss this distillery!